President Obama Said to Curtail $21 Billion Plan to Expand Military Presence in Guam

By Roxana Tiron and Gopal Ratnam - Feb 3, 2012 12:12 PM ET

President Barack Obama plans to curtail a plan costing as much as $21.1 billion to expand the U.S. militaryís presence in Guam and instead will rotate some of the Marines through the Asia-Pacific region, people familiar with the matter said.

The administration now intends to send about 4,500 U.S. Marines stationed in Japan to Guam and to rotate an additional 4,000 through Australia, Subic Bay and perhaps a smaller base in the Philippines and Hawaii, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the plan hasnít been announced.

The U.S. is realigning forces in the Asia-Pacific as the Obama administration refocuses attention on the region after more than a decade of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the same time, the Pentagon is seeking to cut about $490 billion from projected defense spending over a decade.

Some of the Marines going to Guam under the administrationís revised plan will be based in the U.S. territory in the Pacific temporarily, known as on rotation, instead of being permanently stationed there, the people said.